Quest for the Holy Grail.

Wednesday 25th May 2016 - to Tintagel.

Had a lovely lie in this morning, not bothered by the cockerel today.

I am reliably informed by my older brother that Goon means 'flattish lowland'.  I thought of Harry Secombe was a fattish baritone!

Set off to have a look at Padstow (otherwise known as Steinville after Rick Stein).  Neither of us have been previously and thought it was about time we got acquainted with the place.  Normal tactics applied - we parked the van in a lay by a couple of miles out and we cycled in.  First thoughts were that it wasn't a quaint little place but it did have a working harbour and a good range of ordinary shops as well as the tourist cafes and souvenir shops.

On closer inspection there was plenty of evidence of His Majesty Rick Stein.  Several food establishments were owned by him and a whole row of shops on the side of the docks.  It transpired that His Majesty was making an appearance next Monday to do a book signing, we are so sad to miss him!!!  To be fair, he seems a decent kind of fella and doesn't swear as much as Gordon Ramsay.

We travelled onto our new site near Tintagel.  What a stunning location for a site, overlooking the sea.  Here is our view from the front window...

Tintagel village and castle are a couple of miles away along the coastal path.  In the afternoon we walked around to Tintagel.  I know most readers will know that Tintagel Castle is the fabled place that King Arthur was concieved.  I felt the parallel between Arthur's quest for the Holy Grail and my quest for the Holy Grail of pasties.  I have previously been here and had a vague memory of a great pasty.  I could just about remember where the pasty shop was and found it again without any bother.  It was Pengenna Pasties.  They were 'top crimpers' instead of side crimpers and to be honest they were rather pricey at £4 but they were quite big and full of tender meat.  A real contender for the title.  I am placing them equal top pasty because of the amount of meat and its tenderness, but perhaps not quite as peppery as the Porthleven and Philps pasties.  The crows thought it was a good pasty too.....

It was a bit like a scene from 'The Birds' film by Alfred Hitchcock.  Don't worry they had no chance.

We had a look around the shops...

For some reason Janice declined to pose for this photo??

We walked down to the Castle but it is a complete ruin and it cost £8.75 each to enter.  It's location on the cliffs is amazing but we get those views all the time on our walks.  I was reminded of a scene in Monty Python and the Holy Grail film when some French knights shouted insults from a castle down to King Arthur who was trying to gain access.  The insults included classics like 

"You don't frighten us, English pig-dogs! Go and boil your bottoms, sons of a silly person! I blow my nose at you, so-called Ah-thoor Keeng, you and all your silly English K-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-niggits! [makes taunting gestures at them]"

I apologise for my childish rememberances but I can't mention King Arthur without thinking of Monty Python.

We walked back on the coast and stopped briefly in Rocky Valley....

It's a lovely little inlet where a small river joins the sea and the cliffs are steep sided.  We had a lovely evening watching the sun go down till about 10pm.